Pokemon: New World
by Fishkiller25
Summary: In a world populated by half-human, half-Pokémon hybrids, where the Gyms and Leagues have been replaced by unofficial tournaments and battle clubs, everyone wants to be a Champion. But at what cost? And can this world be changed? Join Lamont, Galileo and Hanako as they travel through the Zangai region, and see if destiny really is set in stone!


In Room 03 of Source Shelter IV in the Zangai region, one boy sat on an old synthetic-leather couch only five feet from the room's television, his eyes glued to the old, low-quality screen and the grainy images upon it. The walls and floors were a dull metal grey, and the room was rather bare apart from the old couch with patches of fabric missing and visible springs sticking out. Two beds were tucked away in each corner of the room, with a coffee table between them being used as their bedside table. The poorly-lit grey windowless room was illuminated mainly by the greyish glow of the room's TV, and the weak bleached-white glow of the barely-working overhead lights.

The boy was a Shinx, thirteen years old, and he was covered in blue fur. He had two large round ears on the top of his head, sparkling golden eyes that stared ahead in wonder, and a wide grin with sharp catlike fangs. He wore a loose blue T-shirt and black jogging trousers, which had a hole in the back for his long black catlike tail that ended in a star-shaped yellow electricity sac about the size of an apple.

The sound of another explosion blasted out of the TV's low-quality speakers, and Lamont leaned forwards even more. The championship match he was watching held his attention in a Vicegrip, and he loved every second of it. He was watching a Lucario effortlessly smack a Machamp around the arena, blocking every attack and countering with more than twice the force, and despite how outmatched the Machamp was, the crowd was cheering the Lucario on with all their might. Lamont didn't care who was fighting, he just loved to watch League fights. The action, the drama, the violence, the sheer awesomeness in every attack! "So... awesome!" The Shinx boy shouted, pressing his hands into his cheeks, his eyes tearing up as yellow sparks started to dance in his eyes.

"Meh." Came the bored reply of Galileo, his self-appointed adopted brother and his best (And only) friend, who had been lying on his bed in the corner, using his laptop to browse various internet forums. He was a Ralts, about the same age as his 'brother', with extremely pale white skin and green hair in a long bowl-cut that hid anything above his nose from view, including his deep red eyes. Two large red semicircles, each the size of a CD, extended from the top of his head like fins. He appeared to be wearing a white silk bathrobe a few sizes too big for him, judging by the way the sleeves went past his hands, but that robe was actually a part of his body. "Lamont, why do you even watch this?" He asked in exasperation, tilting his head as he looked at his unofficially-adopted brother.

"Because it's awesome!" Lamont responded giddily without taking his eyes off the screen for a single second. He sighed happily."And some day, that'll be me up there. The whole world watching my fight and cheering my name as I win the League time and time again!"

"Riiight." Galileo said sarcastically with a smirk. "And I'll become a doctor. And Tepigs will fly. And you'll get a girlfriend."

"Hey!" Lamont growled, still not looking away from his TV.

"Just kidding." Galileo laughed, and Lamont laughed with him. "You'll never get a girlfriend."

Lamont stopped laughing. "Hey!" He growled, frowning.

"Look, see those Pokemon on TV? Look at them. Now back to us." Galileo said flatly. "Now look at them. Back to us. Notice anything? They're not us. They were born into the business. They're all members of entire families dedicated to Competitive Battling, and they were all trained from birth to be a Champion. They've been eating Protein Shakes since Day 1, and I can't remember the last time I ate anything more nutritious than a synthetic bacon sandwich. Furthermore-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Lamont said tiredly. "But what about the underdogs? The League has those."

"Yeah, they have 'Underdogs', which also go through the same treatment as the Stars. The only difference is what the media says about them, and what backstories they're given. Every few years, some 'Underdog' shows up out of nowhere, and defeats everyone in the League, only to lose to the Champion at the last second. And then they're never heard from again. Sometimes they win, and then they're never heard from again."

"Wait, you're another Anti-League Conspiracy Nut?" Lamont asked, surprised.

"Heck no!" Galileo laughed, leaving his laptop there and getting up off his bed. "Do I look like I'm wearing a tinfoil hat to you?!" He asked incredulously.

"...Yes. Except it's green." Lamont said flatly. "Anyway, most of those money-seekers only joined the league because... well, they wanted the money. They kept their prize money from every match they were in, and most of them just went into retirement from that."

"...Retirement? That much money, hm?" Galileo asked, his interest piqued. "Hmm..." He laced his fingers together, rested his hands behind his head, and leaned back. "Y'know, this might not be such a bad idea. Besides, with all that fighting, I might even evolve. Chicks dig Evolutions."

"So, you're in?" Lamont asked excitedly, ignoring his brother's comment about chicks.

Galileo knew he was going to regret this. Still, it might be fun. He sighed, and then smiled. "I'm in."

"Awwww yeah!" Galileo shouted, grinning wildly and pumping a fist in the air. "This is gonna be SO! AWESOME!"

"Two words: Entry fees." Galileo said sadly, his old and outdated laptop in front of him. Once the match on TV was over, they had decided to look into becoming an official team. Galileo was searching the official websites, and searching for unofficial town-run leagues that had a decent cash prize, while Lamont was lying on his back, trying to come up with their team name. "We'll need to win some Local tournaments before we can even afford going to watch the Pokémon League, let alone getting in. I'm thinking, we try... Here, then here, then here." He said as he pointed in turn to each spot he had chosen on the map he'd found online.

"Uh huh." Lamont agreed, unable to see the screen and having no idea what his friend was talking about.

"Also, according to League regulations, we need at least three Pokémon in our team. Ahem: 'Team sizes may be between 3 and 12, but note that at the start of every match, an equal number of fighters must be on the field. Therefore, smaller teams will not be outnumbered by large teams'. Meh, seems reasonable."

"Uh huh." The Shinx droned.

Lamont frowned. "And according to this, Psychic-type are now officially the best Pokémon type, and all other types must pay tribute by dancing in hilarious costumes and giving us your money."

"Uh huh..." Lamont droned. He then noticed what he'd just said, and then got up and looked at his brother. "Wait, what?!"

"Just kidding." The Ralts boy said, a small grin on his vampirically pale face. "Each arena has its own theme and gimmick, but they all follow the basic rules. The rules are... the usual... No outside weapons, no armour, dirty tricks are only allowed if they're an officially-recognised league-approved move, only officially-recognised league-approved items can be brought into the match, only officially-recognised league-approved Pokémon can enter, one Held Item per Pokémon, style points will be deducted if you kill your opponent... y'know, the usual."

"Duh." Lamont groaned, lying back on his back with his head on the floor, now looking at his only friend upside-down. "Wait, 'Officially recognised League-approved Pokémon'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have no idea. According to this site, every Pokémon in the world is on the League-approved Pokémon list, so why would... Oh, right, Legendaries. The Legendries aren't on this list. Good." Galileo said, smiling. "Anyway, our team needs a third member. And a name."

"Hmm... How about... Team Awesome Lightning?" Lamont suggested, raising a hand in the air, as if offering a sign with the team's name on it.

"No." The Ralts boy said flatly.

"Awesome Two: Electric Boogaloo?" The Electric-type offered.

"No." The Psychic-type sighed.

"Thunderstruck?" Lamont offered sadly.

"Nope." He said firmly, frowning.

"Awesome Lamont and the Funky Bunch?" The Shinx said desperately.

"Yes." Galileo said sarcastically, tilting his head.

"Really?" Lamont asked, grinning ear to ear.

"NO!" Galileo shouted angrily, sticking out both arms for emphasis.

"Okay, the usual naming patterns won't work..." Lamont said deep in thought, rolling onto his front. "What moves do we know? I can't remember which I learned on my own, which I learned from TMs, and which I learned from Move Tutors, but... I know that I can do Tackle, Leer, Charge, Spark, Bite, Thunder Fang, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Iron Tail, Signal Beam, and Magnet Rise."

"I know Growl, Confusion, Double Team and Teleport," Galileo announced proudly. "And I've used TMs to learn Psychic, Psyshock, Calm Mind, Toxic, Protect, Telekinesis, Light Screen, Shadow Ball, Substitute, and Dream Eater, and I've used online Move Tutors to learn Skill Swap, Pain Split, and Magic Room."

"Psychoshock!" Lamont shouted suddenly.

"Actually, the move is called 'Psyshock'." Galileo explained. "It's a Psychic-type move that-"

"Team Psychoshock! I love it!" Lamont yelled, interrupting his roommate. He got up, and dramatically punched the sky. "Look out world, because we're going to become Champions!"

"Look out world, indeed." Galileo chuckled ruefully. He then paused, remembering something. "Wait, we still need at least one more member. The League's legal minimum number of team members is three."

"Oh, right." Lamont said, deflating visibly and slumping over.

"So... Let's see who we've got..." Galileo began as he opened up a new tab, loading up his favourite social networking website, Yourface, and lookded at his Friends List. He then opened another new tab, typed in Lamont's username and correctly guessed his password(Username, AwesoMont, Password- Awesome), and checked both Lamont's Friends List, and his own.

Galileo had only three Pokemon on his Friends List, and he hadn't met any of them in real life. He'd searched online for them, hoping to find a girlfriend. So far, he had Friended: An elderly eighty-something Ampharos lady from Johto, A 'Skitty' from Hoenn that was actually a bored thirty-something Shiftry guy pretending to be a girl online for fun, and a 19-year old Vulpix girl from Kanto that had only Friended him because she had an app that automatically accepted every friend request she received. She now had over 3000 friends, and counting. Lamont, on the other hand, only had one friend: Galileo.

Galileo frowned. "We aren't very popular, are we?" He shook his head sadly. "No matter, I'm... I'm sure we know someone that doesn't hate us TOO much, right?" He asked desperately, a fake grin on his face.

"Sure, uh... how about that Grass-type girl... the Bayleef?" Lamont suggested.

"Nah, she hates me." Galileo said offhandedly, as if it was common and not unusual for a girl to hate him. And sadly, it was. "Besides, she hates fighting. And me. Anyone else?"

"How about that show-offy Pawniard? He's fast." Lamont said, pacing around the room.

"Maybe, but he's a jerk, and he already has a team. Also, he's a Dark-type! A Dark-Type! Yeah, Dark and Steel dual-typing, but still... Dark-Type!" Galileo said, frowning with a bitter taste in his mouth, as if the act of being a Dark-type could keep that Pokemon off his team forever.

"Wait, are you prejudiced against Dark-types?"

"I'm not prejudiced, I'm too smart." Galileo explained, turning around so he was sitting on the side of the bed, fully believing in what he was saying. "Psychic-type moves have no effect on Dark-type Pokémon. So if we had a Dark-Type on our team, I wouldn't be able to telepathically give tactics and strategies to him or her, or check what he/she is thinking, or..." He paused, smiled, and then started using a kinder tone. "I wouldn't even be able to read their minds to see what's getting them down." He also wouldn't be able to use his psychic powers to force everyone on the team to agree that his favourite pizza, ham, bacon and pineapple pizza, is the best kind of pizza ever, and the one they should buy whenever they order pizza. He folded his arms, and nodded once. "Dark-types and Psychic-types are never on the same team together, and for good reason."

"And that reason is?" Lamont wondered, stopping and tilting his head to the right, looking at his brother.

"We're genetically pre-disposed to hate each other! And while we Psychics are smart enough to admit that sometimes, those lying cheating dirty backstabbing scoundrels can be useful in a fight, they're too dumb and simple-minded to admit that we aren't all as stuck-up and pretentious as they think we are!"

"Well, okay then." Lamont shrugged, believing his adopted brother. And why wouldn't he? He was the awesome one, Galileo was the smart one, and he was fine with that.

"How about that Pichu?" Galileo suggested, smiling.

"NO!" Lamont shouted, coming to a stop. "I am NEVER having THAT on my team! EVEEERRR!" Lamont roared to the sky, and then continued pacing. "What about that Mienshao girl?"

"Nope. She's... ah... off the table." Galileo explained. After a pause, he continued. "Because she's on the bed, with that Frosslass girl. Heh heh, I'm funny. Anyway, how about that Abra girl?"

"You're... not that funny. bro." Lamont said, smiling reluctantly. "Wait... Do you mean..." A look of horror and rage started to form on his face. "The one that has hated you since last week? What were you thinking back then?!" Lamont asked incredulously. "Seriously, she sleeps all the time! All the time! Why would you even-"

"Long story." Lamont interrupted quickly. "Anyway, the only ones left I can think of are... the crazy Scyther guy, the angry Treecko guy, the creepy-"

"Wait, there's only Treecko in this town, and she's a girl." Lamont pointed out, stopping and looking at his teammate.

"She is?! Then she can join the team!" Galileo said happily. "She's not my type, but still, she's a good battler."

"Yes!" Lamont yelled, punching the sky. "She's so awesome! Intense, and extreme, and kinda creepy, and kinda stuck up, but awesome!"

"Now go see her!" Galileo said happily. "Go get her, and live your dream!" He called out as he ran out the door. Once the sound of Lamont's footsteps had faded away, Galileo waited a few moments, staring at the door to see if he was really gone.

"Yep, he's gone." Galileo said happily. His voice then took on a lower, breathier, trying-to-be-more-attractive tone. "Looks like it's just you and me, now... my love."

He turned to his laptop, and smirked. He opened a new tab, closed the old tabs, and opened up the Browsing History, in preparation to delete it when he was done.

Galileo loaded up his favourite imageboard, one that specialised in his favourite type of pictures.

He had time. Lots and lots of time.

His smile grew into a lewd grin as he saw the first image, the first of ninety-five.

"Happy birthday, Little Sis." Hanabi, a Charmander, said cruelly, hands on her hips. She was nineteen years old, with short spiky yellow hair, red skin, and two large ice-blue eyes. She was wearing a tight black T-shirt that showed off her smooth and thin reptilian body, and tight black bike shorts with a hole cut in the back for her tail. The small fire at the end of her lizardlike tail burned brighter than usual, because today was her little sister's birthday.

"What do you want, Hanabi?" Hanako, a Treecko, asked boredly, lying on her side on a table covered in a blue tablecloth, grabbing her synthetic birthday cupcake and eating it, paper and all, in one gulp. She had bored yellow eyes with oval black slits for pupils and leaf-green skin, and dark forest-green hair tied back into a ponytail with a darker-green loop of elastic. Her body was light, lithe, and swift, and she was wearing a green shirt and similar black bike shorts, with a hole in the back for her thick, rounded chameleon-esque tail. Today was her sixteenth birthday, but she didn't care about that. In fact, she hated her birthdays.

The two sisters were in their room, Room 08 of Source Shelter IV, and out of everyone who lived there, those two had the deepest connection to this place. Their ancestors had once owned the farm this place had once been built on. Not that it meant anything, these days.

Back in the day, the land where this vault stood was once home to a colossal barn, surrounded by a farm larger than most towns. A family of hard-working farmers had owned that land for generations. One fateful day, the entire family had an 'accident' involving family get-togethers, roughhousing, and a Wild Pokémon attack. The ruined land was bought by Silph Co at an extremely cheap rate, the barn was destroyed, and one of Sliph Co's many Shelters were built in its place. It was intended as a publicity stunt to improve their PR, and they made a lot of profit by allowing people to buy and reserve a space in the Shelter. Advertisements were distributed, whipping up war-related paranoia and 'Implying' that if any parent truly loved their children and didn't want to get them killed; they would buy and reserve space in the Shelter. They doubted anyone would actually need it, and as the days went by, nobody actually needed it.

During the Great War, they needed it. With the constant threat of Flying-Type Pokémon from Overseas flying in and destroying the town, one of the many riots in the region allowed people to break into the shelter, ruining its 'Everything-proof' qualities. Those who lived in the vault at the time refused to venture out into the world, and violently attacked any outsiders that dared to enter. The inhabitants remained in the Shelter, living off their artificial food and barely-purified water. They could leave through any of the broken windows, but they didn't want to leave. They'd never admit it, but after living so long inside the Source Shelter, most of them were terrified of the outside world.

The Shelter would cost too much to fix, so Silph Co made a public statement saying how that region didn't deserve a Shelter, and if their government truly cared about their people, they would fix it themselves. Of course, they could only legally do this after buying the damaged building and the rights to it from Silph Co at a price most countries would never be able to afford.

Unwilling to buy a broken building that had already been built on their land, and unable to start an official project to repair it without incurring the wrath of Silph Co and its lawyers and possibly starting an international incident, the government decided to forget about it entirely, allowing the 'Silph Shelter' and those within it to live on in self-sufficiency, walled off from the rest of the world.

However, because Source Shelter IV was so remote, very few people knew of the Shelter, or its history. It wasn't on any routes, and it wasn't on any official maps. And so, it was now the ancestral home of Hanako, Hanabi, Lamont, Galileo, and all of the others who were born in Source Shelter IV, doomed to a predestined life of repetitive monotony only broken by the moments when they could enjoy the pleasures of the outside world, such as Television or The Internet.

"Come on, Hanako!" Hanabi said, her smirk growing into a wild grin. "Cheer up, it's your birthday!"

Hanako looked at Hanabi as if she was an idiot, and in a slow and mocking tone, she said, "You don't say!"

Hanabi's huge grin turned into a grimace, and then her mouth opened wide, the top of her head pivoting back as her jaw stayed still. Her mouth was wide enough to fit both of her hands into. A small ember flickered into life in the center of her large mouth like a gas cooker, and Hanako frowned.

She exhaled, using the move Flamethrower, spewing a column of fire in front of her. Hanako, lying on her side, rolled off the table, away from her sister. The stream of fire collided with the table, setting the wooden frame and tablecloth alight. Hanako landed on her hands and knees, and then got up onto her feet and knees like a racer about to run. She then darted forwards and her body flickered out of visibility as she used one of her favourite moves, Agility. Most Grass-Type Pokémon like Hanako wouldn't want to fight a Fire-Type Pokémon like Hanabi, but Hanako loved a challenge.

The Treecko reappeared on the other side of the room in a low stance, panting silently from the sudden burst of speed. She cupped both of her hands behind her, a small green ball of energy the size of a marble forming between them and quickly growing to the size of a bowling ball as she used another move she liked, Energy Ball.

Hanabi cut off her fire stream, closed her mouth, and looked left and right quickly, expecting to be blindsided. She didn't look behind her because, although she'd never admit it, Hanabi wasn't that bright.

Hanako straightened out both her arms in front of her, her wrists together, her hands flat and pointing away from each other straight up and down, firing the green bowling ball-sized Energy Ball at her half-sister. "You mad, bro?" She taunted as it shot forwards like a missile.

Hanako looked back over her shoulder, but it was too late, and she was struck in her upper back with the Energy Ball, which exploded on impact. Hanabi stumbled forwards a few feet, but was almost completely unharmed. Grass-Type moves didn't usually do much against Fire-Types, and Hanabi was no exception. She was more annoyed than hurt, and turned around and angrily shouted, "I'm not your brother, I'm your sister!"

Hanabi ran forwards, leaning forwards like a ninja, clenching her fists as they burst into flame from the effects of Fire Punch. Hanako knew of this move, and stood still, allowing her half-sister to run across the room to her. Hanako's stance was calm, relaxed, and confident. "Hanabi? I have no sister."

Hanabi screamed in rage, and as soon as she was close enough, she swung her right fist in a wide hook, aiming for the side of her half-sister's head.

Hanako's curled tail suddenly glowed with a bright white light, and then temporarily transmuted itself into iron as she used the move Iron Tail. She made a spinning jump, a sudden clockwise rotation, striking her sister's left side with the huge Iron Tail and then landing in the same stance as before, her tail transmuting back into its original organic living plant/lizard-skin substance.

Hanabi stumbled a few steps to the left, the fire around her hands extinguishing as the sudden blow made her lose her concentration. She glared at her Treecko half-sister, and ran at her again.

Hanako's right eye glinted with a pale blue light as she used Detect, and she instantly knew the next few moves her opponent was going to make.

Hanabi's fists burst into flame again, and she lunged forwards with a right strike aimed at Hanako's stomach. The Treecko leapt back effortlessly, dodging it. Hanabi launched a left jab at her half-sister's face, but Hanako casually leant to the right, spreading her feet and crouching lower. She then pivoted expertly on her right foot as she used Iron Tail again, swinging the heavy metallic appendage into her sister's stomach. Hanabi stumbled back another few feet.

Not giving her a chance to recover, Hanako used Iron Tail again, flipping forwards and striking her sister on the top of her head with the her tail. A loud hollow metal clang sounded through the room, and Hanako's tail became organic again. She used the strength and mobility of her tail, and the strike's recoil, to flip away, landing on her feet, as Hanabi was slammed face-first onto the floor.

Hanabi groaned angrily and started to get up, and Hanako began charging another Energy Ball. She threw the ball, but Hanabi opened her mouth and spewed out a stream of fire, detonating the green ball before it reached her. However, the second Hanako had thrown the Energy Ball, she had used Agility again.

The flames kept coming, until they reached the walls. The walls and floors of that building were supposedly indestructible, as well as being completely fireproof, and so the stream of fire bounced off it like a jet of water.

Hanako appeared behind Hanabi again, but this time she was ready. Instead of wasting time with any Fire-type moves, she used Metal Claw. Sharp white glowing three-inch long claws formed at the end of her fingers, made of pure energy that quickly transmuted itself into sharp curved metal.

Hanabi turned around, and a clawed hand impaled her through her stomach, piercing through everything in its path and going out the other side of her body. "How do ya like that, Little Sis?" Hanabi taunted cruelly, a vicious grin on her face. "It's the same every year, isn't it? Every year, we fight, and every year, I win! Every single year!" She opened her mouth wide, as a small flame flickered at the back of her throat and her Metal Claws turned back into pure energy, and were absorbed back into her body. "Happy birthday, Little Sis!"

"I... Hate... You." Hanako whispered weakly.

A large fireball formed in Hanabi's mouth as she prepared to take the winning shot. Once she'd won, she'd take her half-sister's body downstairs, hand her over to Nurse Joy, and after half an hour in Nurse Joy's Pokemon Center, she'd be as good as new. That Nurse made miracle-workers look bad, even without having to use her healing moves. Hanabi didn't want to kill Hanako, just beat her in this year's fight. If she died, then Hanabi wouldn't be able to win next year's fight, or any fights after that.

"Spark!" A boy shouted, and suddenly, Hanabi was blindsided by a charging Shinx crackling with static electricity. Hanabi wasn't hurt, but her concentration was broken. "Don't worry, Hanako!" Lamont shouted. "I'm here to save you! And then ask you to join my team!"

"Stay out of this!" Hanabi shouted, her hand slipping out of Hanako and bursting into flame. Hanako fell onto the floor, a pool of green sap starting to form, and Hanabi swung a haymaker Fire Punch at Lamont's gut. Lamont fell to the ground, in pain, but unharmed.

"YAAA-Hahahaha!" Hanabi laughed loudly. "You want HER on your team?! Well, she sucks, and so do you, so I guess you'd make a perfect pair!"

"Pair?" Lamont asked as he got up, panicking, and waved his hands in front of his face. "No, no way, it's not like that! It's not like that at all! We aren't even in the same Egg Group, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"Shut up!" Hanabi yelled, swinging a Fire Punch jab at his chest.

"Thundershock!" Lamont shouted as electricity coursed through his body. As soon as Hanabi touched it, she screamed as the high voltage assaulted her nervous system, causing her a great deal of pain.

Hanabi stumbled back, and Lamont noticed the state Hanako was in. "You killed her?!" He asked, outraged.

"She's not dead, idiot!" Hanabi explained, mildly frustrated. "And that's not blood. She's a Grass-type Pokemon, so I think that's like, chlorophyll, or sap, or something. Besides, I know her, and she's got about another hour of fighting in her before she'll need to go see Nurse Joy."

"Oh. Well... That's still bad!" Lamont said uncertainly. "So... uh... Hey, Hannah?"

"HanaKO!" Hanako demanded, stressing the -Ko syllable.

"Right, uh... Hanako... Do you want to join my team?"

"Not until I've beaten my half-sister!" Hanako said angrily. She frowned, clasped both hands together, and started glowing.

"Challenge accepted!" Lamont said happily. He then ran forwards, and grabbed Hanako's right arm. "Thunder Fang!" He yelled to the sky, opening his mouth wide and swinging his head, and his sharp teeth, down towards her flesh.

"No." Hanabi said firmly, punching the side of Lamont's head with a right hook on fire. He fell to the ground, unharmed but in pain.

"Ow." Lamont said flatly.

Hanabi dived onto Lamont and pinned him down, opening her mouth and generating another fireball.

A faint ethereal blue outline formed around her body. "Huh?" Hanabi wondered, closing her mouth as the fire dissipated. "Am I evolving?"

"Thankfully, no." Galileo said, grinning. He then used Psychic, telekinetically picking her up and slamming her against the furthest wall.

"Galileo!" Lamont said happily. "How'd you know we were here?"

"I'm a Psychic-type Pokemon!" Galileo said proudly. "Also, I could hear your fighting from my room. And the power in my room went out, because you forgot to pay the electric bill. Lamont, I need you to come back home, and power my laptop."

"Sure!" Lamont said happily, being completely okay with his roommate wanting to use him like an emergency battery. "But first, we need to save Hanako!"

"Y'know, I knew this was gonna happen when we let her onto the team, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Galileo said with a smirk, allowing the blue Psychic field around Hanabi to dissipate. Hanabi slowly got up, breathing heavily in rage.

Hanako's body stopped glowing as she finished using Photosynthesis. She got up, completely unharmed and unblemished. Apart from the green liquid on her clothing, and how tired she was, she looked as if she hadn't been fighting at all. "What are you two idiots doing here?!" She yelled angrily.

"Winning." Galileo answered offhandedly, watching the fight between Hanabi and Lamont. "Galileo, it's time for Awesome Combo Three!" Lamont yelled, crossing his arms.

"Got it!" Galileo said with a grin, and he started running.

Hanabi got up, and her hands ignited again as Lamont ran closer to her. She tried a Fire Punch right hook at Lamont's face, but he ducked under it. "Spark!" He shouted, and his body started to Spark with electricity. He grabbed Hanabi at the torso, a small amount of electricity painfully flowing into her, and then he bent backwards at the knees, slamming Hanabi head-first into the floor behind him in a move wrestlers called the supplex. Year after year, the Pokemon League refused to accept it as an official move, mainly because they didn't come up with it, but also because most Pokemon would be able to do it if they were strong enough. He then let go and moved away from her, allowing her to fall onto her back, her flaming tail instinctively moving to the left so she wouldn't fall on it.

"Aaand that's my cue." Galileo said, using Psychic again. He telekinetically grabbed Hanabi, threw her up face-first against the ceiling, and then let her fall to the ground. She gasped in pain as her body hit the ground with a dull thud, and she struggled to get up.

"Woah, that actually worked?!" Galileo laughed, unfolding his arms and putting them on his hips.

"That was SO AWESOME!" Lamont squealed, clasping his hands together, his face showing the purest expression of unrestrained glee.

"Well... It worked." Hanako said sourly, frowning. "But you're interfering! I'm supposed to beat my half-sister, not you!"

"Don't worry, we'll let you have the winning blow, and that's all that matters." Galileo said boredly. "Why are you even fighting her without help, anyway? She's Fire-type, you're Grass-type. The Fire-Water-Grass trio is the first part of the Weakness Web that gets taught in Basic-1!"

He was referring to BASIC-1, the online course that all children of Zangai are legally required to begin taking at the age of 6. It is a collection of increasingly difficult thrice-a-day courses, to be completed over the course of two years. BASIC-1 includes the Weakness Web, a web that illustrates which Pokemon types are more effective or less effective against other types; basic english, grammar, spelling and maths lessons, a map of the region, a lesson on reading maps, art lessons, music lessons, singing lessons, and a standardised test that tested everything a test could possibly test, in the hopes of determining what the test-taker was good at. According to the results of the BASIC-1 test, Lamont was destined to be a sketch artist, Galileo was destined to be an accountant, Hanabi was destined to be a fitness instructor, and Hanako was destined to be a teacher. Hanako hated teaching, small children, and teaching small children, but the results of BASIC-1 could not be appealed, bribed or hacked, and those results were required on every resume, along with the numerical code that proved the results were not a forgery. These results were also Zangai's own social networking site that nobody ever used, due to it only being accessible from Zangai.

"I know the Weakness Web, baka!" Hanako shouted.

"Wait, wait, what does baka mean?" Galileo asked, ignoring Lamont's fight.

Hanabi started to get up, and Lamont stood still, waiting for her to get up.

"It means... idiot. Or stupid." She explained.

"Then why not just say stupid?!" He screamed.

"Because I like Japanese, it reminds me of home!" She yelled.

"Uh... Hanako?" He asked in confusion. "You and your entire family have been living in Source Shelter IV for sixteen generations, and you've never been to Japan. Everything you know about it is from picture books, anime, and the internet."

"Sh.. Shut up!" Hanako said, outraged. "They're not picture books, they're Manga!"

"Whatever." Galileo groaned. "Unless they're like Hentai, I don't care."

Hanabi lunged forwards, fists on fire, and tried an uppercut to the base of Lamont's jaw. Galileo noticed this, and used Psychic again. Hanabi's body was encased in a faint blue outline as he held it still, spreading her arms and legs, rendering her as helpless as a captured victim tied to his operating table.

Lamont grabbed Hanabi's upper left arm, and shouted, "Discharge! HaaaaAAAA-"

Countless watts of light blue electricity coursed through his body and into hers, and Lamont continued his screaming, as excess electricity formed a crackling light blue sphere of power around the two. Hanabi grit her teeth, refusing to scream, or do anything to show how much pain she was in. The energy lit up the room, bleaching out all colour and scorching the floor.

"I wish I had some sunglasses." Hanako grumbled, begrudgingly impressed.

"Heh, I don't need sunglasses." Galileo chuckled, a small grin on his face as he lightly shook his head, the green hair that covered his eyes refusing to move. He let his Psychic grip go, because Lamont's electricity would prevent her from voluntarily moving. "Still, I could do with some marshmallows, and some sticks. Hey, Hanako, I don't suppose you'd be willing to make me some twigs, and then let us roast marshmallows on your sister's-"

"Half-sister's" Hanako insisted.

"Fine, half-sister. Can we use her tail-fire to roast marshmallows?"

Hanako looked at him as if he'd just said the most offensive thing possible. "Using twigs... for marshmallows?!" She asked, outraged at his use of twigs, but strangely okay with him using her half-sister as a living bonfire. "How could you waste trees like that?!"

"Seriously?" Galileo asked incredulously. "That's what you're offended by? Not me using your half-sister's tail-fire as a BONFIRE to ROAST MARSHMALLOWS WITH, but by me using real twigs on marshmallows?!"

"Yes, baka, I thought I made that plainly clear." Hanako said bitterly. "You shouldn't objectify People like that. But, I don't like my half-sister, so it's okay when you do it to her."

Galileo's mouth hung open. For something like that, he had no words.

The lightning died down, and Lamont let go. Both combatants slumped to the ground, completely exhausted. Galileo used Psychic to pick Lamont up, levitate the Shinx closer to himself until he was by his side again, and then dropped him on the floor with a dull thud. "Okay, are ya ready, Hannah?" Galileo asked.

"HanaKO!" The Treecko insisted.

"Whatever." The Ralts said dismissively. "Go over there, do the finishing blow, beat your half-sister, and then we're off to the Seiryoku Arena, and then the Pokémon League. We've got a match tomorrow, and to be honest, as charming and witty as I am, I'd rather sign our team up BEFORE the deadline, instead of having to talk my way into getting us signed up after the deadline."

Hanako walked over to Hanabi's helpless form, and stared at it.

"Here, I'll hold her up." Galileo said, using Psychic to pick Hanabi up like a lifeless mannequin, only her immense rage letting her maintain her rapidly-fading grip on consciousness. She glared ahead defiantly, daring her half-sister to get it over with.

Hanako glared back. The Treecko put her hands together behind her, assuming the position needed to charge an Energy Ball.

Hanabi kept staring, her hatred as unbreakable and unstoppable as the fire on her tail, which was now reduced to a small flickering ember.

"No." Hanako said firmly, lowering her arms. She closed her eyes, and looked away.

"What are you waiting for?" Galileo yelled. "Tree her right in her Embers, or whatever it's called, and go!"

Hanako's head whipped around, and she glared at Galileo so fiercely that he instantly stopped talking, and almost lost his grip on her half-sister. She then sadly looked back at her fallen half-sister. "I don't want to beat you this way. Not like this. If I'm going to beat you, it'll be because I've finally surpassed you, not because my... allies... happened to wander into the room at the last second, and decided to join in the fight." She whirled around suddenly. "Even though I CLEARLY TOLD THEM NOT TO!" She roared.

She turned back, crouched down, and looked Hanabi straight in the eye. "Hanabi?" She said calmly. "I'm going to form a team with these two, and fight all over the world. I'll train, I'll get stronger, I'll Evolve, and on my seventeenth birthday? You and I will fight, and I will win."

"Heh... heh... Good luck." Hanabi laughed.

Hanako walked out the door, but paused at the doorway. She looked back with a smile, and said, "Good luck to you too... Sis."

Galileo let go of Hanabi, letting her collapse to the ground, where she fell asleep, her body starting to slowly heal already.

"Should we call a Nurse Joy?" Lamont asked guiltily, looking back at the sleeping Hanabi.

"Nah, she'll be fine." Galileo assured him, walking over to the Shinx with a tiny smile on his face. "I've seen these two fight, they usually end up much worse off than this. They didn't even get to do the whole 'Overgrow vs Blaze' thing. Still, we should probably get out of here, before she wakes up."

"But we just... I mean..." He stuttered.

"Come on, Bro! She'll be fine! We only electrocuted her, and threw her into walls, and electrocuted her some more, and... uh... Look, the point is, she'll be fine." He insisted, nodding.

"Are you sure?" The Shinx asked hopefully, looking up.

"Absolutely!" The Ralts said happily. "Come on, Bro, you know I'm the smart one!"

"In comparison to him..." Hanako muttered, folding her arms and looking to the side.

"Look, Bro, have I ever lied to you?" Galileo asked, patting Lamont on the back.

"Yes." Lamont said, giving him a flat look.

Undeterred, Galileo went on. "Have I ever lied to you about a girl?"

"Yes!" Lamont said louder, staring at his brother in disbelief.

Galileo frowned. "Have I ever lied to you about THIS girl?" He specified.

"...No." Lamont admitted, starting to cheer up.

"Come on, bro, let's go start our adventure!" He said cheesily with a fake smile, appealing to his brother's love of cheesy cartoons. He then added, in a more serious tone, "And more importantly, let's get out of here before she wakes up."

"Alright!" Lamont said enthusiastically. "Let's go!"

"For glory!" Lamont yelled, pointing to the ceiling.

"For power!" Hanako growled excitedly, thrusting her right fist in the air.

"For hot chicks! And money!" Galileo yelled, grabbed their hands, and he used Teleport. A soft yellow light enveloped the three, and then they blinked out of existence.

-

They re-appeared in the foyer, in front of a large stainless steel door, twelve feet high and four feet thick. To them, it was known as The Door, and it earned those capital letters. The rest of the room was made of pale white tiles, but this door looked sturdy, mainly because it was. It was designed to be the main thing protecting the inhabitants, and so no expense was spared in making it resistant to just about every known Pokemon move. A small computer terminal was imbedded in a nearby wall to control that door, the door Silph Co claimed could stand up to a Hyper Beam without taking a scratch. To open or close The Door, the computer terminal required a code, a long sequence of numbers that most would be unable to remember, without having a Psychic-Type Sliph Co worker forcibly implant it in their minds through an online Webcam-chat.

"Woah. The Door is... right there." Lamont said, awestruck. It was then that he realised just how final this would be. "Y'know... when we go through this door, there's no turning back. This place doesn't allow Outsiders to come in, and, well... if we left... we'd be Outsiders."

"And if we stayed, we'd be nobodies!" Galileo answered angrily, turning to look at his Shinx brother. "Do you have any idea how many chicks this place has? Seven! And out of that seven, there's only four of them that have a good body, and Hanako is the only one with a good mind! Do you expect us to live the rest of our lives here, watching TV, eating 'Pokemon Food' that tastes like Dog Food, and-"

"Wait, how do you know what Dog Food tastes like?" Lamont asked sceptically, folding his arms.

"I'm Psychic." He answered offhandedly, not giving any more information on the subject. "Now, there are loads of people out there, in the real world! Hot chicks, smart chicks, even chicks that are both hot AND smart! Hanako, you're good with numbers, get the door!"

"If you like Outside so much, why didn't you leave sooner?" Hanako grumbled, walking over to the computer terminal.

"Come on, what kind of a brother would I be if I left my own family hanging?" Galileo asked, smiling.

"Wow, this is an old computer." Hanako said quietly, tilting her head as she looked at it. "Also, you two aren't related." She said ouder, not looking back.

"We're related in every way that counts!" Galileo insisted, wrapping an arm around his adopted brother.

"Hey, Galileo... Why didn't we Teleport around the door?" Lamont asked, peering forwards at the door like the fine print of a contract.

"Because The Door was designed with that sort of thing in mind. As well as the whole Hyper Beam-Proof thing. You can't Teleport through it, nobody can."

"Want to try anyway?" Lamont said, leaning forwards excitedly.

"No, because I'd rather not reappear in the middle of a steel door four feet thick." Galileo muttered. "Ghost-types can't get through The Door, either. Nothing can, without the code. Speaking of which... Hanako, how's that code going?"

"Still loading the 'Enter Code' screen." Hanako said boredly. "WHY is this thing so slow?!"

"That's a good question..." Galileo admitted, nodding once.

"Why didn't we just go through a broken window? This place has plenty of those!" Hanako hissed, staring at the computer terminal, and the empty green rectangular Loading Bar that slowly filled with green.

"Another good question." Galileo said, nodding again. "And the answer is: It's cooler this way."

"He's right." Lamont agreed, nodding with him.

"Told ya." Galileo said, grinning. "Also, I know the code, I read the Mayor's mind."

Hanako slowly turned around in horror, and Lamont took a few steps to the side, away from his brother. "You WHAT?!" She screeched. " You read his mind?! Do you have ANY IDEA how bad that is?!"

"Hey, it's not like he was using it!" Galileo defended. "Besides, this just another reason to leave! Well there's that, and the chicks here don't trust me, just because I'm Psychic. They think I'm gonna mind-control them, even though I'm not powerful enough to do that." Hanako went back to the terminal, and glared at the loading bar, now at seventy-two percent. "...Yet." He added, causing her to roll her eyes.

"It's up!" She yelled in relief. She then glared at the console. "Okay, the code is... thirty digits long. Each of these digits can be anything from zero to nine, or any letter from A to Z. If we enter the wrong code, an alarm goes off, and guards come to investigate." She folded her arms, deep in thought. "So... the mathematical probability of us guessing the right code is-"

"Stand aside, I know the code." Galileo said boredly, pushing past her and pressing buttons. "One one one one one, six nine, six nine, three." He recited proudly from memory, grinning. "And then it repeats itself twice. Aaaand... Enter."

"Seriously?!" She asked incredulously. "THAT'S the code?!"

Galileo looked at her, and tilted his head. "You've met our current Mayor, were you really expecting anything better?"

A loud mechanical clunk was heard, and then the high pitched harmonic whirring of several gears started as the pneumatic door slowly slid sideways into the wall. Through the tiny crack, natural light started to filter through, a bright yellow glow that put the pale glow of the Shelter's overhead lights to shame. To them, it was as though they were staring at the gates of heaven itself, opening in front of them to grant them passage. The whirring of gears started to sound like a choir of angels, singing their arrival into the outside world.

"This is... This is really happening." Lamont said quietly. "I'm going on an adventure."

After sliding open a few inches, the sound changed, becoming an ear-destroying mechanical grinding at the gears clashed together and the door ground to a halt. The screen on the computer terminal changed and became a crimson red, the word ERROR appearing in bright white letters.

The pale white lights overhead turned red, and a warning siren blared through the whole building.

"Why is this happening?!" Hanako screamed, clutching the sides of her head.

"That code was correct, I know it was..." Galileo muttered, peering at the door.

Lamont froze up in fear. This was not what he expected to happen. Deep down, something that felt like a survival instinct told him that this was bad, this was wrong, and he should go back to his room and await further instructions. This was actually implanted by the Sliph Co computers, not that he knew that.

He shook his head. No, that wasn't an instinct. To him, it seemed like it was... fear. And he wouldn't let fear rule his life any longer! "Galileo?" He commanded triumphantly. "Destroy that door!"

Galileo grinned. "I thought you'd never ask!" He replied confidently, pointing his right arm at the door.

"Wait, I read that this door was completely indestructible! Even Legendary Pokemon couldn't breach it!" Hanako said, surprised.

"It is!" Galileo yelled, as The Door was engulfed in a glowing purple light. "This Door is completely indestructible!" The glow spread, now covering the entire wall. "However, the wall around it isn't!" The Psychic-type Pokemon shouted confidently.

If anyone was standing outside the Stable, they would have watched as Galileo pushed every tile on the tiled wall away, smashing through the cement holding it together, piece by piece. They would have seen Galileo standing there, arms outstretched, psychically tearing the wall apart. They would have seen Lamont standing at his brother's side, arms folded, a proud smile on his face. They would have seen a Machop, a Marill, and a Elekid charge down the stairs and start running towards them, ready to attack them, and apprehend their unconscious bodies for questioning, and 'Retraining'. They would have blinked, and then the Machop, Marill and Elekid would be on the floor, knocked out cold, Hanako reappearing in front of them, the green glow around her hands fading away as she calmly walked back to her team. And then that person would have been hit by one of the many, many plastic tiles flying around, landing in the ground, the sharp edges imbedding the into the grass like throwing knives on a wall.

With nothing to support it, the two metal slabs fell forwards, hitting the ground with a loud metal clang. The Door had fallen. Source Shelter IV's computers had not been programmed to handle such an inconceivable event, and so it classed everything that had just happened as a false alarm, and the siren de-activated automatically.

Lamont, Galileo and Hanako took their first steps outside, together.

The sky overhead was a clear blue, with a few small clouds floating around. The sun overhead burned with an intensity none of them had ever felt before. The long green grass beneath them was healthy, and hadn't been cut in a long, long time. To the north, off in the distance, they could see a few mountains, green hills with a thin brown dirt path going right up the center, up and over the mountains and off into the distance. The air around them smelled cleaner and fresher than anything they had ever experienced, and they all felt slightly lightheaded, but they refused to falter, or do anything that could ruin this glorious view. They were seeing the outside world for the first time, and they loved it.

"It's... beautiful." Lamont gasped, awestruck, his eyes wide in wonder, golden sparks flashing across his eyes.

"It's nature." Hanako sighed happily, running forwards, feeling the grass beneath her feet as she ran. She leapt, spun in the air, flopped onto her back, and started taking in the natural sunlight. She sighed dreamily. "Ahhh... Once a week, I sunbathe through the windows to keep my skin healthy... This is so, SO much better."

"It's okay, I guess." Lamont grumbled, shielding his eyes from the sunlight with his right arm. He nervously patted the right pocket inside his robe, and upon finding what he was looking for and being reassured that he still had it, he relaxed.

"So... Where are we going?" Lamont asked.

"To the top of that hill over there." Hanako answered. "I can get there in an hour, and you two can get there in three."

"OR..." Galileo pointed out forcefully, frowning. "I teleport us, and we get there in three seconds. You can run off ahead without us if you want, but we'll get there first."

"Why not just teleport us to Seiryoku City?" Lamont asked his brother, looking up at the sky.

"Because, I can only teleport to places I've already been, or places within a one-mile radius that I can see." Galileo answered, looking around. "So, are we going?" He asked, folding his arms.

Hanako jumped from her back onto her feet, and smiled. "I'm ready." She said confidently.

"Then let's go!" Lamont yelled, running off into the distance.

Galileo pointed at his brother and used Psychic, pulling him back to the group. He then grabbed both of their hands, and Teleported the three of them away in a flash of yellow light.


End file.
